VA - Herndon, Joseph Ryan shot, Christine Banfield stabbed, both deceased, in home - Feb 2023

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momsof3 said:
Thank you very much for access to this article. It is impossible to understand how Brendan Banfield has not been charged. This article makes clear that every piece of evidence that is being used to prosecute the au pair also applies to him - he admits firing one of the fatal shots, there is proof that the picture of his wife used in the fake profile used to lure Mr. Ryan to his house was sent to him by his wife, he bought a new phone and wiped the history, he left the house for his job but instead sat for 17 minutes at a nearby McDonalds waiting (it appears) for a call from the au pair, and so much more. Not only that he remains working in the federal government (hopefully NOT with his service weapon). I understand the DA might want to flip the au pair (who seems naive and delusional about what is happening to her - she can't wait to "go home") but given the abundant evidence, I can't make sense of it.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this situation doesn't surprise me at all. Murderers who have a lot of $ can hire expensive legal representation that's proficient/skilled enough to get them out of anything. We've seen this numerous times in the past. As the saying goes, "Money talks".
 
Sonny Crockett said:
Just caught up with this heinous case/crime. Haven't heard much about this earlier. It's evident there was another accomplice here who hasn't had any charges brought against them. I hope justice is served & that everyone involved in this murder is punished - but that may not happen. Too bad.

Here's an update:

www.yahoo.com

Affluent Virginia suburb rocked by mansion murder mystery as nanny faces trial

A Brazilian au pair charged with murder in connection to a double homicide at her employers' suburban Fairfax County, Virginia, home in February 2023 is set to face trial.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
Click to expand...
This is new...
Brendan is no longer employed by the IRS, the agency confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

In last week's Washington Post article an IRS spokesman said that he was still there. I wonder if someone in a senior position took action after reading that.
 
ch_13 said:
This is new...
Brendan is no longer employed by the IRS, the agency confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

In last week's Washington Post article an IRS spokesman said that he was still there. I wonder if someone in a senior position took action after reading that.
Click to expand...
I think he reached the end of administrative leave and the timing was coincidental, but, could be wrong.
 
sunspun said:
Is he charged with the murder of his wife or of Mr. Ryan or both?
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Per press conference, Brendan Banfield is facing "aggravated murder" charges for both victims. Apparently, Fairfax County PD uncovered new information that was "instrumental" in being able to finally charge him. They will not publicly state how Joseph Ryan came to be in the home/what his relationship was to either of the Banfields or the au pair, and say that's still under investigation.

Chief says that digital, physical, forensic, and circumstantial evidence exists "in abundance" to support having brought the charges today against Banfield. Also says that he had a feeling from the moment he first saw the crime scene that there was more to the story than JPM and BNB were telling him.
 
Last edited:
LifeIsAMystery said:
apnews.com

Husband indicted in Virginia double homicide nearly a year after au pair's arrest

A Virginia grand jury has indicted Brendan Banfield on four counts of aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan.
apnews.com apnews.com

The long wait was likely due to AP not taking a plea deal and providing evidence on the conspiracy. Now that her trial is looming, likely she flipped.
Click to expand...
Reading that article I truly believe BB was a sociopath. This clearly wasn't a spur-of-the-moment rage. Who kills TWO people, including his wife and some totally innocent person instead of getting a divorce. He made a decent living, he could have divorced and married his young au pair. Instead he ensnared Juliana in some clearly long, meticulously planned multiple murder plot which left his daughter without either parent! Not that I have one iota of sympathy for Juliana - I hope she gets what she deserves for going along with a multiple murder plot. Like everyone here I was afraid he was never going to be charged - glad they knew it was him all along and were just building a case.

And I agree with you that this is likely a plea-deal for Juliana as her trial was coming up fast! I hope her attorney, even if paid for by BB, told her "you need to plea down or you are going down" but I've been worried that he was pulling the strings on the representation since her family didn't pay for an attorney and she didn't have a public defender. I've had this fantasy that the prosecutors would make a motion to have any attorney representing her "conflicted out" if they could prove that BB paid for the attorney so she would at least have an objective attorney telling her not to go down alone for these crimes. It could also be that as the evidence against Juliana was being vetted the evidence against BB grew into a mountain. Or maybe he had to stop paying for her attorney because he lost his job and she wound up with someone who talked sense into her.
 
It will be very interesting to learn what finally convinced prosecutors that it was time to indict him. Maybe Juliana flipped, maybe not. It seems strange that it would take her so long while sitting in a jail cell. But police must have collected massive amounts of forensic info (blood, fingerprints, ballistics, DNA, computer records, cell phone and other digital records, and all kinds of other physical evidence) early on, and there has long been a mountain of circumstantial evidence (that he was APs lover, had recently gone to shooting range and purchased Glock, etc.). So what was preventing authorities from thinking they had an ironclad case a long time ago? When all is revealed it will be fascinating.
 
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